Carpet stretcher, tacker, and tack-puller.



' No. 644,323. Patented Feb. 27, I900.

P. c. GBEENAWALT.

CARPET STRETCHER, TACKEB, AND TACK PULLEB.

(Application filed Dec. 1, 1899.)

(No Model.)

NITED STATES PATENT Prion.

PETER O. GREENAWALT, OF READING, PENNSYLVANIA.

CARPET STRETCHER, TACKER, AND TACK-FULLER.

S?ECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 644,323, dated February27, 1900. Application filed December 1, 1899. Serial No. 738,873. (Nomodel.)

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be'it known that I, P TER O. GREENAWAL'I, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residingat Reading, in the county of Berks and State of Penn-'sylvania, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in CarpetStretchers,Tackers,and Tack-Pullers; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in a combined carpet stretcher,tacker, and tackpuller; and the objects of the invention are, first, toprovide improved mechanism that will stretch the carpet and then tack itwhile "in such stretched condition; second, to provide an improveddevice that is adapted for use either as a stretcher alone, atack-driver alone, or a tack-puller alone, and, third, to so constructthe separable parts of v the device that they may be cheaplymanufactured and readily replaced if broken. I accomplish these objectsby the device described in the following specification and illustratedin the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents a sideelevation of the devices embodying myinvention. Fig. 2 rep resents acentral vertical section of the same. Fig. 3 represents a top plan viewof the cap for the operating-lever and the tack-cup cast integraltherewith, and Fig. at represents a detail perspective view of the endof the claw arm or lever of the stretcher.

A in the drawings represents the grooved operating-lever, preferablydivided longitudinally and forming the main portion of the stretcher andtack-driver. This operatingrod is composed, preferably, of two halves aa, respectively, which when placed together form a cylindricalstructure. The fiat face of each of the respective halves is provided oneach side of the central line with a semicircular groove, so that whenthe said parts are placed together two circular passages b b are formed,one for the tack-driving plunger 0 and the other for the passage oftacks, as herein de scribed. These two parts a a are preferably made ofwood and secured together by screws. The cap 0 is secured to the upperend of the operating-lever and is provided with a tackcup 0,tack-passage c, and plunger-rod passage c*, said passages c and 0corresponding in position with the respective passages 17 b, so as toform continuations thereof.

It will be observed that by constructing the operating lever or rod withthe cap 0 it can be made of wood and its upper end protected by saidcap, and also by constructing the cap and tack-receptacle in one pieceand providing passages c c in the same a very cheap and durable deviceis provided and metallic entering-guides secured for the plunger-rod andtacks, and also that the tacks are within convenient reach of theoperator.

The lower end of the operating-rod is provided with a dividing-castingB, which has grooves forming passages d d, which are continuations ofthe passages 12 b; but the passage d converges toward the passage duntil it merges into the same, and thereby forms one passage 61 at thelower end of the device. Each portion of the lower end of the dividedpart B is provided with two arms e e, which extend at right angles tothe operating-lever and have a claw-plate clamped or riveted betweenthem. One portion of the casting Bis provided with two arms f, whichhave upturned ends adapted to receive journals of a claw-shod lever F.The other portion of the said casting B is provided with two arms f,which rest upon the upturned ends of the arms f, and thereby keep thejournals of the said clawed lever B in position. This lever F isprovided with a nose 9 near its journals, and this nose is adapted tostrike against the portion B, and thus restrain the claw-lever fromfurther movement in that direction. The outer end of the lever F isprovided with a laterally-extending arm h, which has a clawplate I-Iriveted to it. A step or toepiece H is also provided on said end, and.by means of this the claws on said lever may be forced into and held insecure engagement with the floor. The plunger-rod E is adapted to workin the passages 1), cl, and 61 which form one straight continuouspassage therefor,and said rod is provided at its upper end with a handleor head e, which is formed with a claw e adapted to he slipped under thehead of a tack, so as to pull the same from the floor. Theoperating-cord I is secured at one end to the said claw-lever and ispassed through eyes 2 2' on the operating-lever and has a handle or knobh secured on its opposite end.

The operation of the device is as follows: The device is placed with theclaws D H resting upon the carpet and with the operatinglever in aninclined position. Sufficient pressure is then exerted on the said leverto force the claws at its end into the fioor. Foot-pressure is thenbrought to bear upon the pressure-step H, which causes the teeth of theplate H to engage the carpet, and as the operating-lever is raised intoa vertical position the claw H will be drawn toward the claw D and thecarpet thus stretched across the entire width of the room. In thisposition the fullness just taken out of the carpet will be between thesaid claws. To do away with this fullness and allow the carpet to betacked near the claw D, the claw II is forced into the floor and theoperatingdever pulled backwardly, which will stretch the carpet betweenthe two' claws. Now the operating-rod is again raised to a verticalposition and a tack driven, as follows: A tack is slipped into thepassage 1) and drops into the passage d When the plunger-rod is raisedand is thus driven home by the descent of said rod.

When during the stretching operation it is necessary to raise theclaw-lever irrespective of the operating-lever, the operating-cord isbrought into use for this purpose, and it is thus not necessary to reachdown and grasp the leveritself, which would be very tiresome.

The head 6 is of a weight sutticientto give the desired force to thestroke of the plungerrod when it descends.

When it is desired to use the device as a tack-driver alone, theclaw-arm on lever F is fastened up out of the way by the cord I, asshown in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

When it is desired to draw tacks with the device, the operating-lever isreversed and the claw e brought into use.

All parts of the device are readily interchangeable, so that they may becheaply manufactured and easily changed when broken or worn out.

It will be observed that by constructing the operating-lever with aplunger-rod b and a tack-passage b, which extend entirely to the top ofthe said lever, a tack can be inserted at the top of the lever and theplunger operated to drive said tack without the necessity of stooping orbending the body.

What I claim as my invention is 1. In a combined carpet stretcher andtacker, the combination of an operating-lever provided with a claw atits lower end and having tack and plunger-rod passages which unite inone passage near the lower end of the lever, a cap, a tack-holdingreceptacle provided with passages which latter, when the cap is inposition, coincide with the tack and plunger-rod passages, a plunger-rodprovided on its upper end with a tack-pulling claw, a clawlever pivotedto the said operating-lever near its lower end, and an operating-cordattached to said claw-lever and terminating in proximity to the hand ofthe operator, whereby the device can be used to stretch a carpet anddrive a tack in said stretched carpet, and also used to draw a tackWithout changing the arrangement of the parts, substantially asdescribed.

2. A combined stretcher and tacker, comprising an operating-lever madeup of a body portion having two parallel passages formed therein, a capat one end having apertures coinciding with the upper ends of the saidpassages, the said cap being also provided with a tack-receptacle, acarpet-engaging head secured to the other end of the said le ver whichis provided with passages adapted to coincide and prolong the passagesformed in the body portion of the lever, one of said passages converginginto the other in the said head portion, whereby tacks inserted in onepassage may be directed into the other, a tack-drivin g rod mounted inthe straight passage, carpet-engaging teeth secured in the lower end ofthe head, and a pivoted engaging claw secured to the said head forassisting in stretching the carpet, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

PETER O. GREENAlYALT. Vitnesses: I

WM. W. FETTER, J. H. LEEsER.

